Harvard University has withdrawn a fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning, the transgender US Army soldier who was convicted of leaking classified data

The Harvard Kennedy School of government had announced on Wednesday that it had invited Chelsea Manning to be a visiting fellow and speak at a forum. Photo: Reuters

Milwaukee: Harvard University on Friday withdrew a fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning, the transgender US Army soldier who was convicted of leaking classified data, after two leaders in the US intelligence community distanced themselves from the school.

Manning, 29, was released in May from a US military prison in Kansas where she had been held for passing secrets to the WikiLeaks website in the biggest breach of classified data in the history of the United States.

The Harvard Kennedy School of government announced on Wednesday that it had invited the controversial figure to be a visiting fellow and speak at a forum.

The invitation to speak still stands, Harvard Kennedy dean Douglas Elmendorf said in a statement.

“I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility,” Elmendorf said. “I see more clearly now that many people view a visiting fellow title as an honorific, so we should weigh that consideration when offering invitations.”

The announcement came after US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Mike Pompeo cancelled a speaking engagement at the university on Thursday over the invitation to Manning, whom he called an “American traitor” in a letter explaining his decision.

“My conscience and duty to the men and women of the Central Intelligence Agency will not permit me to betray their trust by appearing to support Harvard’s decision with my appearance,” he wrote to the school.

Manning said on Twitter that she was “honored to be 1st disinvited trans woman visiting Harvard fellow. They chill marginalized voices under CIA pressure.”

Also on Thursday, Michael Morell, former deputy director and acting director of the CIA, resigned as a senior fellow at the university, media reported.